J-1 or Exchange Visitor Visa is for people who will be participating in an exchange visitor program in the United States. The J visa is for educational and cultural exchange programs. An exchange visitor (EV) may be subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If the exchange visitor is subject to the two-year home-country physical presence (foreign residence) requirement, he or she cannot change his/her status to that of H, L, K, or lawful permanent resident (LPR) until he or she has returned to his/her home country for at least two years or received a waiver of that requirement. Such waivers may be requested and if approved, obtained under these five separate bases:
 • No Objection Statement
 • Exceptional Hardship
 • Persecution
 • Conrad Program
 • Interested Government Agency (IGA)

* No Objection Statement (NOS):
 The EV's home country government issues a No Objection Statement (NOS) through its Embassy in Washington, DC directly to the Waiver Review Division that it has no objection to the EV not returning to the home country to satisfy the INA 212(e) two-year foreign residence requirement and does not object to the possibility of the EV becoming a resident of the U.S. The NOS may also be issued by a designated ministry of the EV's home government and forwarded to the U.S. Chief of Mission, Consular Section, within that country to be forwarded directly to the Waiver Review Division. The EV has the responsibility for obtaining a no objection statement from his/her home government.
 
 * Request by an interested government agency (IGA):
 If an exchange visitor is working on a project for or of interest to a U.S. Federal Government agency, and that agency has determined that the visitor's departure for two years to fulfill the INA 212(e) requirement will be detrimental to its interest, that agency may request an interested government agency waiver on behalf of the EV for the sake of public interest.
 
 * Persecution
 If an exchange visitor believes that he or she will be persecuted based on his/her race, religion, or political opinion if he/she were to return to his/her home country, the EV may apply for a persecution waiver.
 
 * Exceptional hardship to a United States citizen (or legal permanent resident) spouse or child of an exchange visitor:
 
 If an exchange visitor can demonstrate that his or her departure from the United States would cause exceptional hardship to his or her U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident spouse or child, he or she may apply for an exceptional hardship waiver.
 
 * Request by a designated State Department of Public Health or its equivalent, CONRAD:
 Pursuant to the requirements of Public Law 103-416, a foreign medical graduate who has an offer of full-time employment at a health care facility in a designated health care professional shortage area or at a health care facility which serves patients from such a designated area, and agrees to begin employment at that facility within 90 days of receiving such a waiver, and who signs a contract to continue to work at that health care facility for a total of 40 hours per week and for not less than three years, may apply for a waiver on this basis. 
 
 

$215
 

 1. Provide “J-1 Waiver” questionnaire
 2. Confirm you are subject to the two-year residence requirement
 3. Provide document checklist
 4. Review the personal qualifications
 5. Help you choose a ground for waiver that you qualify or applies to your situation
 6. Prepare forms and guide to prepare supporting documents
 7. Submit your visa application to the proper government agencies
 8. Keep close contact with government agencies
 9. Keep you informed of the case status
 10. Assist you in response to Request for Evidence, if any.
 

$3,000
NOTE
This service fee is the basic reference price, which may be adjusted case by case.